Everything You Need To Know About CipherTrust Manager

Thales’ CipherTrust Manager stands as one of the most reliable options available for organizations around the world for data security. This solution offers you a full-scale data security answer to help manage encryption keys, policies, and data access that fits perfectly into your IT framework. CipherTrust Manager protects information stored in cloud, hybrid, and local storage setups.

It works even better for businesses that can integrate the solution into their already existing Thales CipherTrust Data Security platform for more seamless integration. It can discover data, classify, and secure it with the help of several security technologies. This setup allows you to have central control of all your keys and gives you the benefit of more efficient policy management.

The key features of CipherTrust Manager include

Centralized Key Management 

• It functions as a great resource that you can leverage to generate backup or restore, rotate, deactivate, or delete the key lifecycle activity processes. 
• It helps organizations like yours to integrate with Microsoft SQL TDE, Oracle TDE, and any other KMIP-compatible product and key that you might be using. 
• Handling data key and ownership access helps you to comply with several data security relations like GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and more. 
• It scales with you to meet your growing requirements with multiple encryption forms.

Granular Access Control 

• It gives you suitable ABAC (attribute-based access control) features.
• It helps developers establish exact controls over their encryption keys.
• Only those who have been verified are granted access to Key Management Operations that enhance overall security.
• It logs every action and function on the platform, which facilitates your monitoring.

Broad Flexibility 

• It supports encryption technologies at the application, database, file, and storage levels.
• It also works with open standards like PKCS #11, JCE, .NET, and KMIP for seamless integration.
• It supports encryption and tokenization in on-premises, cloud computing and hybrid environments. Third-party cloud services such as Google Platform Services, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are compatible with CipherTrust. 
• It also includes SDKs and APIs for direct integration that can fulfill specific requirements for your organization.

High Performance

• The ability to grow in clusters is beneficial for organizations that have operating units spread across multiple geographic areas.
• It allows keys, rules, and configuration information to be replicated in real time with other appliances.
• It reduces business disruption and information security risk while enhancing encryption’s high availability and speed.

Robust Security

• It includes detailed ABAC controls, secure key distribution over TLS, and key storage on FIPS 140-2 compliant HSMs.
• The platform offers data discovery and classification functionality for your organization that adds an extra layer of security.

Tackling Common Issues in Deploying CipherTrust Manager

Over the years, we have worked with clients from different geographical areas worldwide, had different company sizes, and had even more diverse requirements from integrating CipherTrust Manager. However, some common issues stayed consistent for organizations regardless of the differences in their attributes. Here are some common issues and our recommendations that can help you to effectively mitigate these problems.

1. Network Connectivity Issues

What we have analyzed while working with corporations is that when network settings aren’t correctly configured, it leads to difficulties in connecting CipherTrust Manager with external services. During the deployment phase, improper handling or expired certificates can cause SSL/TLS-related errors or issues with secure communications.

We advise rechecking the network configuration and inspecting the logs to troubleshoot connectivity issues. CipherTrust logs connection requests received, client requests, etc. You should also double-check your firewall rules to allow necessary traffic for management and data protection purposes. Verify that all certificates are valid and correctly installed. Also, ensure the certificate chain is correctly configured for CipherTrust Manager and external systems to avoid SSL/TLS-related issues.

2. Synchronization with Time Services

If CipherTrust Manager’s clock is not properly synchronized with a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server, it can result in authentication and encryption failures. Proper time synchronization on the CipherTrust Manager appliance is crucial for the correct functioning of features, such as configuring HSM as the root of trust, clustering multiple CipherTrust Manager, adding extra connections, integrating with external clouds, etc.

We strongly advise configuring at least one Network Time Protocol (NTP) Server for the CipherTrust Manager immediately after deployment to ensure accurate time synchronization. In general, NTP Server configuration ensures that communications between a CipherTrust Manager and any external entity will work. Please navigate to this document to see how you can add or delete NTP servers.

3. Starting services after deployment

Physical appliances and private cloud instances include an initial SSH key for the System Admin “ksadmin” to use during launch. After launching, this key must be replaced so the CipherTrust Manager can start all its services and become fully functional. Replacing the SSH key is a one-time operation during deployment. You cannot replace the key a second time.

If you have launched a Virtual CipherTrust Manager from a public cloud such as AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, or Oracle Cloud, the SSH key you provided at launch does not need to be replaced. To replace SSH keys, create an SSH key pair outside CipherTrust Manager. Your public key must be an RSA key in the OpenSSH format. RSA 4096, with RSA 2048 as a minimum size for adequate security, is recommended.

The corresponding private key can be OpenSSH, PKCS1, or PKCS8 format. Browse through the CipherTrust Manager’s IP address, and if prompted paste your SSH public key in the box provided and then select Add. A login screen will appear after this. Follow this document for further information.

4. Meeting Multiple Regulatory Compliance

Organizations have different compliance requirements, such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and others, that they need to adhere to depending on their region and industry. And it becomes complex for employees who are new to the solution to find a way to leverage the solution to meet these compliance requirements.

Before starting the deployment, we advise you to verify your organization’s compliance needs. After that, set up CipherTrust Manager to manage encryption keys by implementing a secure policy framework that complies with your legal requirements. Additionally, you can also use thorough auditing and reporting tools, which can provide all the data you want on your key management operations. Each one of these actions is important and should be added to your compliance documentation.

5. Ensuring compatibility with Existing Solutions

Compatibility issues can occur if CipherTrust Manager doesn’t configure well with the current IT and security setup.

We recommend using CipherTrust Manager’s APIs and SDKs to integrate into your environment. It is also important to review the integration and configuration steps carefully for each application, such as HSM. You can also get help from an external support team as they can help to ensure the solution operates efficiently with your current systems, reducing disruption, and enhancing your overall security setup. They can help to address any compatibility issues your company might face during or after you set it up.

6. Achieving Scalability

Organizations often struggle to increase their resources to meet the growing security needs as they scale due to the growing use of keys across the environment. Setup CipherTrust to manage encryption types and keys that will scale alongside your organization. CipherTrust employs a REST interface and a microservice-based architecture, allowing easy deployment and scalability within your environment.

We advise you to properly understand the architecture of CipherTrust and analyze how nodes can be added to make a cluster with high availability. Scaling the solution also means that your encryption keys and policies extend to expanded areas, incorporating optimization techniques and handling large-scale encryption. This should be carefully assessed, as doing so incorrectly can cause a lack of performance and mismanagement of encryption keys.

Advanced Features and Capabilities

From our experience, we have seen most leading organizations choose CipherTrust Manager due to its advanced feature options that add to the overall security and efficiency. To make sure you can maximize the return on investment on CipherTrust Manager, it’s really important to have a really good understanding of the solution. So, here we list all the core functionalities that make CipherTrust Manager one of the most trusted solutions for enterprises.

1. Data Discovery and Classification

• The Automated Discovery tools help to efficiently identify structured as well as unstructured sensitive data on-premises and in the cloud.
• It has built-in templates for various regulations like GDPR, CCPA which can help you quickly set up comprehensive scans using the tool to identify all sensitive data across your data stores, wherever they reside, and immediately rectify any compliance gaps.

2. Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) and Bring Your Own Encryption (BYOE)

• CipherTrust supports BYOK, which gives you the freedom to use your own encryption keys and manage its data security.
• CipherTrust’s BYOE option also allows you to store data in the cloud using your preferred encryption methods and tools.

3. Key Rotation and Expiry

• The Automated Key Rotation feature helps you to change encryption keys at fixed times which adds additional security measures.
• With the Key Expiry Management feature, CipherTrust can watch over and carry out the main key backup and update regularly to keep your data secure.

4. CipherTrust Intelligent Data Protection

• It has adjustable policies to protect information on-premise and in the cloud; also, it has pre-built templates that help to filter and classify insecure unstructured information quickly.
• Helps you locate security flaws and employ the most suitable method of data protection as per risk and vulnerability profiles.

5. CipherTrust Transparent Encryption

• It provides the data access audit log, privileged user access, and centralized key management for data-at-rest encryption.
• This protects data in all of its resides, including big data and container environments, various clouds, and on-premises storage.

The Need for External Support

It might be easier for organizations with prior knowledge of CipherTrust to implement and manage the whole system. To receive the maximum result from the investments made to purchase a CipherTrust Manager, there are certain characteristics and additional connections that should be set up. In addition, there’s the potential of individuals making common errors that provide an entry point for attacks and security flaws, raising major security concerns.

With adequate expertise, organizations may take advantage of extra customized integrations to match their specific needs and have an easy installation process. Having an additional support team also prevents any incidents of prolonged downtime that can have a snowball effect on the other aspects of your security infrastructure, adding to the security risks and operational inefficiency, which impacts the overall security environment.

Complex Integration 

• CipherTrust Manager offers various functionalities like Data Discovery and classification, which identifies structured and unstructured sensitive data on-premises and in the cloud. The solution provides built-in templates that enable rapid identification of regulated data.
• CipherTrust offers Transparent Encryption, which delivers high-performance encryption and least-privileged access controls for files, directories, and volume. This protects data wherever it resides, on-premises, across multiple clouds, and within big data and container environments.
• CipherTrust also offers a Database Protection feature, which provides high-performance, column-level database encryption with granular access control.

External Support can help make this integration a smooth process. CipherTrust offers several functionalities aimed at protecting your data. It can be complex to understand these features, such as data classification, transparent encryption, database protection, and many others, and integrate them well with your existing resources.

Enterprises often face performance issues when implementation is done poorly or inefficiently. They have adequate experience deploying CipherTrust Manager and integrating its functionalities with different applications. They can adequately leverage the above-mentioned features in your environment to ensure unparalleled data protection. They can understand and analyze your current setup and plan to integrate the solution for what you need.

Specialized Expertise

• CipherTrust Manager offers solid cryptographic key management features. To handle keys well and use the product’s advanced features, you need to know how to leverage these features and understand the security and regulatory rules you must follow. 
• Many companies can lack the expertise required to set up and run tools like CipherTrust Manager well. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you might set it up wrong, making your system less safe.
• After initial deployment, you might need to add more integrations to make CipherTrust Manager work best for what your company needs. It would be best to have experts to tweak and improve the tool as needed.

External support teams are aware of the best practices to be followed for secure key management and necessary security measures and navigate seamlessly with safety. They have the specific knowledge and tech skills to set up this tool and can help you improve the whole process. They can understand what is needed from CipherTrust Manager to align with your business requirements.

Ongoing Maintenance and Support

• CipherTrust Manager works with open standard cryptography interfaces, like JCE, PKCS#11, and .NET. To keep these interfaces working well, you need to understand these interfaces and configure them properly in your environment. 
• After the installation, you must set policies for key rotation, data backup, and restoration. You’ll need to understand the basics of key management and best practices to implement these policies. 
• As security needs change, getting help from experts can be useful. They can ensure CipherTrust Manager meets your company’s security needs without hiccups.

The external support team can provide expert knowledge about key rotation, data backup, and restoration policies. They can guide you in conducting data recovery tests. They stay on top of security and feature updates. They can support you in running and managing the solution well.

Compliance and Audit Assistance 

• CipherTrust Manager helps you follow GDPR, PCI DSS, and HIPAA rules. It does this by creating templates within their tools which can be used to exactly find the gap. It can be complex to understand these predefined templates and use them for our own benefit.
• Complying with several regulations is challenging. They’re complex and need exact records and steps. It would be best to have strong key management, regular checks, and updates to keep up with changing rules.

External experts can configure CipherTrust Manager to meet compliance standards. They offer specialized knowledge to work around predefined templates offered by the solution and help ensure all regulatory needs are met, prepare thorough records, and lend a hand with getting ready for audits. Their knowledge can make the audit process smoother and ensure that all needed answers and proof are given to auditors. They can evaluate how safeguarding is done and can produce a report on areas for improvement.

Deployment Considerations and Best Practices

Deploying a complex solution like CipherTrust Manager can be daunting. To lower common security risks and running problems, we think that companies should consider these points.

Comprehensive Planning 

Deploying CipherTrust Manager needs careful planning to match a company’s encryption and data protection goals. This includes assessing whether a hybrid, on-premises, or cloud deployment model is most appropriate. It also involves picking the right hardware and software parts. Each service and product in CipherTrust Manager must have a clear definition to set it up right and follow the rules. Keeping an eye on things is key to keeping up with changing laws and new threats and ensuring the setup stays strong and safe.

Phased Rollout 

Rolling out CipherTrust Manager works best in stages instead of all at once. Companies can begin with a test run or limited launch in specific departments or programs. This approach allows the team to gain hands-on experience, optimize processes, and build internal expertise. It also helps to spot and fix problems, making future stages go. Throughout the process, it’s a good idea to modify default settings to match your company’s security rules and standards.

Robust Access Controls 

CipherTrust Manager uses Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) to approve actions. ABAC lets you create access policies based on the features of the objects users want to access. Management should set up these policies to ensure permissions are right and to lower the chance of wrong key use or access. Also, it’s key to modify settings and policies that fit your organization’s needs.

Comprehensive Training 

Key management requires specialized skills and knowledge, which external experts can support well. When deploying CipherTrust Manager, engaging external support to ensure you have a properly trained team to use and manage the tool can be beneficial. This approach helps your organization fully leverage the solution’s capabilities and maintain security and compliance standards. Additionally, developing detailed documentation for ongoing management tasks and deployment procedures enhances the effectiveness and consistency of the solution.

Ongoing Monitoring and Maintenance 

CipherTrust Manager needs constant monitoring and maintenance, including disaster recovery testing, backups, and key rotation. Many organizations opt for external support for clear and effective maintenance roles to keep the system running efficiently and reliably. It’s also crucial to regularly check and fix potential risks, boosting system security even more.

Continuous Improvement 

Review and upgrade CipherTrust Manager regularly to meet your organization’s changing security and compliance needs. Leveraging new features and enhancements is crucial for maintaining optimal performance. Getting cybersecurity experts involved can help avoid setup problems and help you stick to best practices. External support services can also assist with ongoing management, maintenance, and operations, contributing to continuous improvement and system reliability.

How can Encryption Consulting help with your
deployment?

• Encryption Consulting’s experts can monitor CipherTrust Manager’s installation and configuration to match your organization’s specific needs, maximizing productivity.
• Our team resolves issues and performs health checks to prevent future incidents. This includes regular updates, upgrades, and troubleshooting to ensure your system operates at its best.
• To optimize your key management processes, we assist in integrating CipherTrust Manager with all other systems and applications within your organization.
• We systematically manage and identify potential issues in your CipherTrust Manager environment to fix them before they occur. Our proactive maintenance approach helps avoid downtime incidents that could increase security risks.
• As a part of our additional offering, we can also provide comprehensive training sessions for your team to improve their skills in using this solution. This way, in addition to following best practices, your team will understand the product’s capabilities.
• We have experience working with several features of CipherTrust Manager and can assist you from start to finish of the deployment with routine monitoring of the solution’s health. We will assist you in CipherTrust’s integration, provide specialized expertise as needed, and offer 24*7 support.

Conclusion 

CipherTrust Manager is a great data security solution that lets you control encryption keys, security policies, and data access from a central place. This solution is ideal for organizations that need strong data protection in different settings. However, the wide range of functionalities and integrations can quickly turn from a benefit to a risk factor due to complexities that require specialized expertise to manage it all.

Taking on external support provides you with an additional support team of dedicated experts who have years of experience in deploying and managing CipherTrust Manager. These experts help you fine tune CipherTrust to meet all of your requirements, which in turn gives you the benefit of getting the most return on your investment.